Gear-cutting machinery.



J. E. GLEASON.

GEAR CUTTING MACHINERY.

APPLICATION FILED MAY/26.1913.

Patented. Dec. 23, 1919.

5 SHEETS-SHEET l.

@mou/Lto@ JmsE". Gleason un mw J. E. GLEASON.

GEAR CUTTING MACHINERY.

WAL/'Messes' J. E. GLEASON.

GEAR CUTTING MACHINERY.

APPLICATION man MAY 2s. 1913.

Patented Dec. 23, 1919.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

I. l Ensenada a :EE

J. E. GLEASON.

GEAR CUTTING MACHINERY. APPLICATION FILED MAY 25. i913.

Patented Dec, 23, 1919.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

J. E. GLEASON GEAR CUTTING MACHINERY.

APPLICATloN FILED MAY 26. 1913.

Patented lDee. 23, 1919.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

L? A *IMM UNITED singes PATEN T UFF'ICE;

JAMES E. GLEASON, OEROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOE, T GLEASON WORKS,ROCHESTER, NEW YORK,` A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

enencnrrme' MAcHniEnv.

Specication of Letters Patent.

f Application area nay 2s, 191e.y serial No.' 769,303.

i To all whom it may concern:

llo

ttl

as will be hereinafter more hill described,y I il@ nism titl

Be it known that ll, JAMES E. GLEASON, of Rochester, in the county ofMonroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and usetulimprovementsv in Gear-Cutting Machinery; and ll do hereby declare thefollow.-

ing to be a full, clear, and exact description' oit the'same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part oi thisspecification, merals marked thereon. y

s My invention relates to gear cutting machinery, and while some of itsfeatures may be adopted in machines for cutting gears generally, it hasspecial application in producing gears with helicoidal'or curved teethin the construction ot what are sometimes lrnown as spiral toothedgears. 'llhe main object of the invention resides in providing a machinecapable of automatically generating curved or helicoidal teeth on bevelgears, in such a manner as to insure regular teeth oli accurate'.tormation, and in which the cooperating parts can be adjusted torcutting bevel gears having. pitch cones -olt 'varying angular-ity.vrll`o these and other ends the invention consists in certainimprovements and combmations ot parts, all

the novel features being pointe out in the claims at ,the end oit' thespecification.

ln the drawings:4 Figure l is a plan view, partly in hori-Y zontalsectiomot a machine constructed in accordance with one embodiment ot myinvention;

Fig. 2 `is an end elevation ot the same, partly in vertical section;Fig. 3 isa side elevation, with the blank carrier in section;

Fig. t is a side elevation oil the cuttersupporting and operating partot the Inaportion ot the cutter-controlling mecha- Fig. 6 is a detailplan view showin ,the 'cutter' in its relation to the blanlr whentornaing a tooth,

Figa? is an `enlared detail view, in side elevation, showing te' cutterin its relation to a bevel gear blanlr, when torming a tooth;

. Fig. n is a sectional view ot a portionot y a critter, illustratingits position in the ear and to the reference-nuthe tooth progressively.

blank while operating on one,face lof a tooth;

Fig. 9 is a similar View illustrating a cutter operating upon theengaging face of the coperating tooth of a gear designedto engage thegear shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a view, similar to F 9, showlng acutter operating on the adJacent face Patented Dec. 23, 1919.

of the tooth ,next to the one shown in Fig. 9;.

F l1 is, a view iin side elevation,y illustratlng the manner 1n whichthe curvefd or helico1dal teeth of one bevel gearengage the coiespondingteeth of a cooperating gear, an

F ig.v 12 is a detail sectional view on the l1ne 12al2a of Fig. l.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several ligures indicate thesame parts.

llt is an established fact l in the art ot gear making that intermeshinggears having teeth thatv are helicoidal or curved laterally in the.direction oit their length, produce a steadier and easier motion, withconsiderably less friction and less-noticeable noise. 'llhis has beenexplained by reason ot the operative faces on each tooth comingprogressively into the plane of Contact, whereas in a straightv tooth,the entire tooth comes inthe plane ot contact at a single instant,tollowed ,by the nent adjacent tooth, and so on. llhat is to say, in theso called spiral toothed gear,

with curved or helicoidal teeth, the entire operative lace of any toothis never inthe plane oit Contact at any one instant, but-.only

-ra small portion thereot, followed-hy the next adjacentfportion, andthereal'terby the remaining portions ot the operative tace ot Somemachines have been devised and suggested :tor cutting curved teeth ot'this character, but so tar., no practicably/successful machine has beenproduced as tar as ll am aware, and it is my pur ose to ador-d amechanism tor accomplis ing the end set forth by means that will enable,further, the automatic eneration on bevel gears oit curved or he icoidalteeth having curved wot-hing laces.

lllriedy, the machine embodies a blanh supvporting portion with meansfor obtaining a relative rolling motion between the worlr and the cuttertor generating the curved laces ot the teeth; and a cutter. tramemounted so as to be moved into and out ot cuttin relation' withtheblanlr and provided wit lllltl lllti a cutter which is movable in acurvilinear path through the blank whereby to produce a tooth of acurvature corresponding to the path of movement of the cutter. f liliththis general descriptioml will now jde'seribe a preferred embodiment lofmy in- `vention which is merely for the purpose of illustrating onemethod of carrying into effectthe novel features, and is not intended inan 7sense as hunting the invention to the speci e structure orarrangements that'will hereinafter be set forth except as defined by theclaims hereinafter. The blank supporting portion of the mechanismpreferably embodies a bedl, having curved ways' 27 on which is arrangeda cradle 3, provided with flanges lv m engagement with the tracks orvvays- 2, and adapted to oscillate on the `carried by the base-plate 5and having engagementwith the curved rack 9 on the cradle. rl.`hisenables the gear blan'lccarrier to be adjusted for bevel gears havingpitch "cones ivith'varying angles. The base-plate 5 is provided with aguideway 10, which serves to permit adjustment of a bed plate 117 thelatter being held in desired position on the base plate 5 by liieans ofthe nuts 12.

The bed-plate 1.1 carries a pair of standards 13 which forni bearingsfor the sleeve 1-1. The blank carrier is mounted in the said bearings,and embodies a shaft or blank arbor 15 to which the gear blank 16 may beattached in any convenientmanner, as is usual in this class of devices.The shaft 15 carries at itsl outer end an index wheel 17 rand the sleeve1l is provided at its outer end With the downwardly projecting extension1S carrying a suitable motor operated in'dex mechanism which isdesignated gener-v ally at `A, and cooperates with the index wheel 17.The latter is normally looked against movement in the sleeve 11, and isreleased at predetermined 'intervals and turned to index the blank forcutting successive teeth, as customary in automatic 'index ingmachinery. Any suitable index mecha nism maybe employed for this`purpose such. for insta-nce` as is illustrated in :my

prior patent of March 1. 1910, No.,950,766,` and as the construction ofthis portion off the machine forms no part of my present invention, Ihave illustrated 1t only conventionallv` and deem itunnecessary'to--describe in detail how the indexing of thev blank isaccomplished. further than to state that it'is timed properly withmovements of the cutter carrying frame` so that the blank may be turnedautomatically after an operating face of one tooth is completed, tobring into 'stationary f frame` 49.

position the corresponding face of the next adjacent tooth to be cut. Inorder to effect a relative rolling motion between the blank and thecutter, the sleeve 1-1 carries a collar 19 splined or otherwise rigidlyxed thereon and which is suitably supported in a bracket 20 mounted onthe base plate 5, and carries an arm 21 which is fixedl y connectedthereto in any suitable manner. The arin 21 carries a gear segment 22,adapted to engagel a crown gear 23 suitably mounted on a stationary partof the machine, it being understood that the gear segment 22 correspondsto the pitch cone of blank 1G which is being cnt, so that as the cradle3 is moved back and forth on the bed, the gear blank will be rolledrelatively to the cutter in the manner corresponding to the rolling ofthe segment 22 on the crown gear 23, thus imparting the proper curvatureto the operating faces of the teeth.

The oscillation of the cradle 3 is effected in the following manner: 2ldesignates the main drive pulley mounted on the drive shaft 25 whichcarries a bevel pinion 2G in engagement with the cooperating pinion 2Tonthe shaft 2S. The latter carries a gear 29 in engagement with anintermediate gearl vwhich drives gear 30 on the shaft 31 which isprovided at its opposite end with a bevel gear 32 in engagement with acooperating bevel gear mounted on the worm shaft 3l which isfprovidedwith the worm 35. Thelatter drives a worin gear'SG to which is fixedlyconnected a projection 3T carrying a pin 38 in engagement with a block3S).

lslidably mounted in the recess l0 of 'the 'crank disk 41. The crankdisk 41 is pivot- 'ally n ifnintedl at .42 and is slotted at 43 to.accommodate an adjustably pivoted block will. correspond to themovement of the cutiter fi'a me,-as it is actuated into and out ofoperative relation with the gear blank,

.which I- aninoiv about to describe.

iitteifcarr-yi'ng frame embodies a plate 47. pivotally mounted forswingilgglnovement about the centra-l post 't8'.thel'atter;beingsiiitably arranged in the The bottoni plate 4T isprovided witlrguide ways 50 to receive.

cooperating giii'de projections on theI adjustable:support"'51. thelateral adjustment of said support on the bottom plate being obtained bymeans of a screw 52 in engagenient with a nut 53 which is carried by thesupport. This pei'niits a lateral adjustment of the cutter relatively totheblank carrier, while vertical adjustment may be obtained by havingthe cutter mounted on the support 51 in such a manner as to be held atdifferent vertical positions thereon. l To this end, the support 51 isprovided with suitable tracks 52 and 53 A which are engaged bythevertically movable slide 54, the latter carrying al threaded lpost 55coperating with a manually adjustable nut 56 on the supportfwhereby theslide maybe raised and lowered to any desired osition. Said slideisprovided with suitab e bearings 57 within which is mounted the spindle58, which in the present embodiment carries the cutter. To meet thepurposes of my invention, the cutter may be of any desired formation, solong as consisting of a plurality of cutting members 60 which aresuitably attached ,to the disk 59 and extend in a direction parallel tidto its axis, so that when the cutter is rotated through the work, itwill produce a tooth of a lengthwise curvature dependent upon the pathof movement of the cutter, or in the present embodiment, upon thecurvature ofl the annular cutting portion formed by the cutting members6 rl`he cutter may be driven in any suitable manner, and this `ispreferably accomplished by providing a gear 61 fixed upon `'the spindle58 and having engagement with the pinion 62 which is keyed to the shaft63, the latter being journaled in the bearing 6-1 upon the slide 54 andcarrying at its outer end a bevel gear 65. rl`he bearing 64: carries aswiveled bracket 66 having at its lower end a bearing 67 within which ismounted a shaft 68 carrying a bevel pinion 69 in enagement with thepreviouslymentioned gevel gear 65. 'llhe shaft 68 is slidably arrangedin the bearing 70 formed on the f bracket 71, and has splined thereon abevel till pinion 72. ,"llhe bracket 71 is pivotally arranged in thestationary frame of the machinev and has journaled therein a shaft 78carrying .at-its 'inner end a bevel pinion74 engaging the aforesaidbevel pinion 72 and provided at its outer end with the gear wheel 75. The gear 75 engages a pinion 76 mounted onthe shaft 77 which is journaledin the swinging bracket 78 to permit shaft 77 to swing about the center48 and carries a bevel pinion 79 engaging a correspondingV pinion 80fixed upon the centrally disposed shaft 8l which is driven in a mannerthat I will describe presently. v

By this arrangement of gears and swinging bearings I am able to adjustthe cutter both vertically and laterally relatively to the blankcarrier, while retaining driving connection in every position, and alsoto swing the cutter frame into and out of cutting engagement with theblank, as will be seen moreclearly hereinafter. lin order to operate thevertical shaft 81, ll mo-unt thereon a bevel gear 82 having engagementwith the corresponding gear 83 on the shaft 8l which carries at itsopposite end a bevel pinion 85. The. shaft 28, reviously described,which isoperatedfom the main drive pulley 2i, carries a pinion gagementwith the pinion 85.

rl`he cutter carrying frame is adapted to be oscillated in a horizontalplane about the center 48, in order to move the cuttery into and out ofcoperative engagement with the blank between the indexing movements ofthe latter, and this is preferably accom-- plished' by a cam 87 which ismounted on the shaft 88, the latter being provided with a worm wheel 89driven by the worm 90. j 'lhe cam'87 is suitably formed, and so timed inits rotative movements, as to correspond with the oscillations of thecradle that carries the blank, and is operatively connected with thecutter carrying frame so as to os,- cillate the latter. 'llo 'this end,'the base plate 4:7 is provided with an extension 91, adjustable on theguide 92 and having a slot in which is mounted an adjustable block 93.The block 93 is pivotally con- 100 nected with a corresponding block 94:which is adjustably arranged in a slot on the arm 95, the latter beingpivoted on the bearing 96 and carrying the projection 97' engaging thecam 87. By this mechanism, the base 105 plate is oscillatedabout itspivotal point at each rotation of the cam 87, the extent of throw beingdetermined by the position of the adjustable blocks just described.l

ln Figs. 8 to l0, ll have shown diagram- 116 matically the theoreticalmethod of cutting the teeth for two intermeshing gears of differentdiameters, and the cutters to be employed for the same, according to thepresent invention. Since, in the. present em- 1115 bodiment, thelongitudinal curvature of the tooth is determined by the arc of acircle, it will be apparent that the radius ofthe circle on which oneface of a tooth is cut is different vfrom the radius of the circle 120on which the adjacent' face of the next tooth is cut. This isillustrated in Fig. 8,' where the tooth face w is formed-on a circlehaving a greater radius than the face y. lnv the coperating gear shownin Figs. 9 and 125 10, the face x2 will engage the face m, and face 'y2will engage face y. Hence, in order that the coperatingffaces on therespective gears `shall engage each other properly, they must he cut oncircles having the Samara- 180 86 in endius. That is to say, the radiusof the curva-Y cutting two gears such as indicated, three differentlysized cutters will be employed, to obtain theoretically correct engagingfaces for the teeth.

The operation ot' the machine, briefly described, is as follows: the.blank carrier and cutter are tirst adjusted to proper cuttingposit-ionin accordance with the pitch.- cone of the gear, as appears inFig. 1. The machine is then set in operation, and while the cutter 5S)'rotates continuously througli -the blank, the cradle 3 on which theblank is mounted, rocks .slowly first in one direction and then in Atheother, to roll the blank through the cutthy During this alternaterolling motion of the cradle, the gear blank l is `rot-ated about itsaxis by means of the segment 22and crown gear 23. The generating motionis intended for finishing a tooth surface'which has previously beenroughed out on another apparatus, and`the cutter will have completed oneface of a tooth Jfrom top to bottom when the cradlel 3 shall havecompleted one oscillation, or in other words, shall have rocked back andforth once, and reached its initial position. Thereupon, the cutterframe -lf is automatically oscillated about the'center 48 to withdrawthe cutter from the blank, which latter is then indexed to bring anothertooth surface into cutting position. The Icutter frame then returned tocutting position and the operation repeated. I claim as my invention 1.In a machine for cutting curved gear teeth, the combination with adished bed,`

of a cradle movable on said bed, a. blank carrler mounted on the cradlepa toothed ,segment adapted to rotate with the blank carrier, astationary gear in engagement W1th the gear segment, meanstor moving thecradle, a pivotally mounted frame, a Y

cutter arranged on the frame and provided with a. substantially annularcutting portion which is movable through the blank lengthwise of thetooth to be formed, means for rotating the cutter o n the frame,- andmeans for oscillating the frame about its axis.

In a machine `for cutting curved teeth on bevel gears, the combinationwith a curved bed, of a cradle movable on said bed, a blank carriermounted on the cradle and angularly adjustable lthereon for changing theposition of the blank carrier relatively to the cutter, a toothedsegment adapted to rotate with the blankcarrier, a stationary gear inengagement with the segment, means for moving the cradle. a'pivotallymounted frame, a. rotating cutter arranged on the frame having its axisdisposed at an angle to the blank carrier, said cut-ter being providedwith a substantially annular cutting portion which is movable throughthe blank lengthwise ot' the'tooth to be formed, means for rotating thecutter on the frame, and means for oscillating the frame about its axis.

3. In a machine for cutting curved gear teetlnrthe combination with adished bed, 0l" a cradle movable on said bed, a blank carrier mounted onthe c adle. a toothed segment adapted to rotate with the blank carrier,a stationary gear'in engagement with the seg1nent,n`1eans for moving thecradle, a

pivotally mounted frame, a cutter arranged on the frameand embodying arotary support having aplurality of cutting members attached thereto.said cutting members extending from the support in a directionsubstantially parallel to its axis and movable through the blanklengthwise of the tooth to be formed, Ameans for rotating the cutter onthe frame. and means for oscillating the. frame aboutl its axis. y

4. In a machine for cutting curved teeth on bevel gears, the combinationwith a curved bed. of a cradle movable on said bed` a. blank carriermounted on the cradle and angularly adjustable thereon forchanging-theposition ot' the blank carrier relative-I v to the cutter. atoothed segment `adapted to rotate with the blank carrier, a

stationary gear in engagement with the segment. means for moving thecradle, a pirotally mounted frame. a rotating cutter arranged on thetable having its axis disposed atan angle to the blank carrier, said cutter embodying a rotary support and having a plurality of Icuttingmembers attached thereto. said cutting members extending 'from thesupport in a direction substantiallyl parallel to its axis and movablethrough the blank lengthwise of the tooth to be formed. means forrotating the cutter on the frame, and means for oscillating the frame onits axis.

In la machine for cutting curved gear teeth, the combination with adished bed, of a cradle movable on said bed, a blank carrier mounted onthe cradle, a toothed segment adapted to rotate with the blank carrier,a stationary gear in engagement with the segment, means for moving thecradle, a pivotally mounted frame, al cutter arranged on the table andembodying a cutting portion which is movable'through the blank in acurvilinear path lengthwise of the tooth to be formed, means foradvancing the cutter through the work` and means for oscillating theframe about its axis.

angularly adjustable thereon for changing the positionof the blankcarrier relatively to the cutter, a' toothed segment adapted to rotatewith the blank carrier, a stationary gear in engagement with thesegment, means for moving the cradle, a pivotally mounted trame, acutter embodying a cutting portion which is movable through the blank ina curvilinear path lengthwise of the tooth to be formed, means foradvancing the cutter through the blank, and means for oscil-l lating theframe about its axis.

7. lln a gear cuttingV machine, the combination with a dished bed, of acradle mov able on the bed, a blank carrier mounted on the cradle, atoothed segment adapted to rotate. With the blank carrier, a stationaryVgear in engagement' with the .toothedl segment, means :tor actu-atingthe cradle, a pvotally mounted frame, a cutter arranged on the `trame,means yfor operating the cutter, and means foroscillating the frame.

8. ln a machine for cutting bevel gears,

' the Combination wana disnea bea, of a cradle movable on the bed, ablank carrier mounted on the cradle and ysingularly addll justable tochange its position relatively to the cutter, a toothed segment adaptedto rotate with the blank carrier, a stationary gear in engagement withthe toothed segment, means tor actuating the cradle, a ivtially annular,cuttin otally mounted frame, a cutter arrange on the trame, means :toroperating the cutter, and means for oscillating the trame.

9. lln a machine tor cutting curved ear teeth, the combination With adished be of a cradle movable on said bed, a pivotally mounted frame, ablank carrier mounted on.

Vone or said arts and a cutter arranged on the other ot said parts andembodying a substan- 4 ortion7 movable through `the blank lengt wlse ofthe tooth to be formed, and means for rotating the cutter through theblank.

1U. ln a machine tor cutting curved teeth on bevel gears, theVcombination vvith a curved bed, or a cradle movable on said bed, apivotall vmounted trame, a blank carrier mounte on one ot said parts anda rotating cutter arranged on the other of said parts, the cutter beinprovided with a substantially annular cuttmg portion movable through theblank lengthwise of the tooth to be termed, means for rotating thecutter, and means for eiecting movement of said frame.

ll. lin a machine for cutting curved ear teeth, the combination with aydishedi ed, of a cradle movable -on said bed, a pivotally mountedframe, a -blank carrierv mounted on one or said parts anda cutterarranged on the other of said parts, the cutter embody- 1 ing a rotarysupport having a plurality ofv cutting members extending from thesupport in a direction substantially parallel to its axis and movablethrough/the blank lengthwise of the tooth to be formed, and means' forrotating the cutter.

l2. ln a machine-for cutting curved ear teeth, the combination with adished be of a cradle movable on said bed, a pivotally mounted frame, ablank carrier mounted on one of said parts and a cutter arranged` on'fthe other of said parts and embodying a cutting portion movablethrough the blank in a curvilinear path lengthwise of the tooth to beformed, and means for advancing the cutter throughthe work; f

13. lin a gear cutting machine, the combination with a dished bed, of acradle movable on the bed, a pivotally mounted frame, a blankcarrier/mounted on oneot said parts and a cutter arranged on the otherof said parts, means for operating the cutter, and means for eil'ecting`movement of the frame.

Vll. A machine forcutting curvedv gear teeth comprising an oscillatorysupport, a

ot the cutter and blank carrier, one toward a and trom the other, topermit indexing of the blank.

' f' JAMES E. GLEASON. Witnesses: r

H.. E.. Sfronnenaknn, Russert. B. Gnmrrrn..

